almost of necessity an invalid, and an irritable one, with a liver
hopelessly deranged, a yellow complexion, and a hatred of the
English climate. The fact that, instead of leaving the army and
coming home at his father's death, George Thorndyke had chosen to
remain abroad and leave the estate to the management of agents, had
specially prejudiced him in the eyes of the people of that part,
and had heightened the warmth with which they had received his
brother. John Thorndyke had upon the occasion, of his first visit
to the family solicitors spoken his mind with much freedom as to
the manner in which Newman had been allowed a free hand.

"Another ten years," he said, "and there would not have been
a cottage habitable on the estate, nor a farm worth cultivating.
He did absolutely nothing beyond collecting the rents. He let the
whole place go to rack and ruin. The first day I arrived I sent him
out of the house, with a talking to that he won't forget as long
as he lives."

"We never heard any complaints about him, Mr. Thorndyke, except
that I think we did once hear from the Rector of the place that
his conduct was not satisfactory. I remember that we wrote to him
about it, and he said that the Rector was a malignant fellow, on
bad terms with all his parishioners."

"If I had the scoundrel here," John Thorndyke said with indignation, "I
would let him have a taste of the lash of my dog whip. You should
not have taken the fellow's word; you should have sent down someone
to find out the true state of things. Why, the place has been an
eyesore to the whole neighborhood, the resort of poaching, thieving
rascals; by gad, if my brother George had gone down there I don't